tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73663329972290497802017-09-25T13:06:42.864-07:00A Life of BooksCommentary on books that I have read, hoping for interaction/comments from others about the same books or books that they recommend.Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.comBlogger409125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-8883580391958601412017-09-25T13:06:00.001-07:002017-09-25T13:06:42.883-07:00OutlanderI read the first four or five Outlander series books when they first came out, but didn't continue with them (there are eight books right now, and I have heard that there will be two more coming). &nbsp;My daughter-in-law convinced me that I need to go on with them. &nbsp;However, it has been so many years since I read them, that I had to start over with the series. &nbsp;So the first one, <i><b>Outlander </b></i>by Diane Gabaldfon, is completed. &nbsp;And it was as good as I remembered!<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780440212560_p0_v7_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Outlander (Outlander Series #1)" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780440212560_p0_v7_s550x406.jpg" /></a>Claire Randall and her husband Frank were in Scotland, reconnecting after&nbsp;World War II had kept them separated. &nbsp;Frank was seriously researching his genealogy and Claire was just enjoying her time there. &nbsp;However, one day Claire went out exploring on her own and &nbsp;walked into a circle of stones. &nbsp;She then found herself back in time two hundred years, still in Scotland. &nbsp;In order to survive what was happening there, she had to marry Jamie Fraser.<br /><br />This is a very involved historical novel, along with a rich love story. &nbsp;I can't even imagine the amount of research done in order to write this book. It's amazing. I couldn't put it down and immediately began the second book!<br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-32304650159858355502017-09-25T12:55:00.002-07:002017-09-25T12:55:47.645-07:00EvictedHooray! &nbsp;I read a non-fiction book this past month! &nbsp;I always have one going, but usually take my time reading it. &nbsp;However, <i><b>Evicted</b></i> by Matthew Desmond was fascinating and read like a novel at times. &nbsp;He won the Pulitzer Prize for this book last year. &nbsp;It is about the housing situation for the poor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which basically reflects the housing situations across the country.<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780553447453_p0_v4_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780553447453_p0_v4_s550x406.jpg" /></a>The author spent two years living in housing among eight poor families&nbsp;observing their difficulties navigating the never-ending cycle of renting, being evicted, making rent, living in shelters, then trying to find another place to live. The stories were fascinating and heart-breaking. &nbsp;Reading how poverty influences every aspect of ones' life was eye-opening. It was estimated that 70-80% of their income was spent on housing. &nbsp;Imagine how one could raise a family with that kind of obstacle. Reading about the other side-the landlords, rental managers, etc.-was also eye-opening.<br /><br />I also really like that at the end of the book, the author has actual suggestions for easing these burdens. &nbsp;This book needs to be taken very seriously by everyone.<br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-90461117212993392162017-09-25T12:42:00.001-07:002017-09-25T12:42:49.965-07:00The Man In My Basement<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><i><b>&nbsp;The Man In My Basement</b></i> by Walter Mosley was the September pick for one of my book groups. &nbsp;Most of the book group didn't really care for the book, including me. &nbsp;I just never really got the point of the whole thing. &nbsp;And really didn't find any redeeming characters along the way. &nbsp;The book was published in 2005 and seemed to get pretty positive reviews.</div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316159319_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Man in My Basement: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316159319_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg" /></a>The book tells the story about Charles Blakey, an unemployed Black man who&nbsp;&nbsp;lives in his family's elegant home. &nbsp;He has a few close friends, but no wife or girlfriend. &nbsp;One day a man showed up asking to rent Charles' basement for the summer. &nbsp;At first, Charles wasn't interested, but as his financial situation became more dire, he agreed. &nbsp;Anniston Bennet offered him about $50,000 for a three month stay in the up-coming summer. &nbsp;Since Charles was close to losing his house, it seemed a wise offer to take. &nbsp;He began cleaning out the basement and uncovered priceless heirlooms. &nbsp;A friend hooked him up with an antique dealer and she and Charles began somewhat of a relationship.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, Anniston Bennet tells Charles his terms for his stay in the basement, which include a cell and meals. &nbsp;It's bizarre. &nbsp;And gets even more so as the story unfolds.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-42362190515008611212017-09-25T12:26:00.005-07:002017-09-25T12:26:46.754-07:00A Couple of Book-ish Events That Occurred This MonthI had a couple of interesting "bookish" things happen this past month. &nbsp;And they have both been really enjoyable!<br /><br />First, my son and daughter-in-law got me started on listing to podcasts. &nbsp;Yes, I know, I am late to the game, but still, I made it! One of my favorite ones is called <b>What Should I Read Next? </b>&nbsp;In this podcast, there is a guest each week who talks about their reading life, then shares their favorite three books and one book that they "hate". &nbsp;After sharing these, the narrator recommends three books that she thinks the guest might like. &nbsp;So over the podcast, seven books in total are discussed. &nbsp;What is difficult for me, is that I listen to the podcasts while driving in the car, so I can't write down the titles I'm interested in while I'm listening! &nbsp;It is good practice for my short-term memory! &nbsp;So far, so good.<br /><br />Secondly, I recently attended my 50th high school reunion and while there saw a good friend from high school who I had not seen for probably 40 years. &nbsp;I did remember that she was a big reader, so we had a great time talking about books, book groups, book blogs, and podcasts. &nbsp;She doesn't live near here anymore, but we have already touched base by email. &nbsp;It was wonderful to re-connect with a serious reader!Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-58180445454688468272017-09-06T12:47:00.001-07:002017-09-06T12:47:36.909-07:00Ever Have This Happen?This afternoon I was listening to my very first <b>What Should I Read Next </b>podcast. &nbsp;I'm just discovering the joy of podcasts and when this one was recommended to me, I was thrilled. &nbsp;So as I was driving home on my 30 minute drive from town, I turned the first one (to me) on and was greatly enjoying it as they talked about books. &nbsp;First the guest discussed her three favorite books she recommends to others, and then she was asked to share the book she has read that she likes the least-the one book she actually hates. &nbsp;The guest kind of hemmed and hawed, reportedly feeling embarrassed to admit that she hates this book. &nbsp;Finally the interviewer tells her, in so many words, to just put it out there, and the guest says "<i><b>To Kill A Mockingbird</b></i>". <br /><br />I audibly, out loud, gasped! &nbsp;It was as if I had been shot in the heart. <br /><br />Then I questioned the guests' books that she recommended. &nbsp;Could I possibly like them? &nbsp;I have put two of them on my to-be-read list, so I will find out. &nbsp;I kind of felt sorry for the guest....one, that she doesn't get the beauty of the book, and two, that she had to admit it to everyone! And I found my reaction to be really funny! &nbsp;Thankfully, I was still in control of the car as I drove down the highway!Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-2172103213466880532017-09-01T11:08:00.002-07:002017-09-01T11:08:43.784-07:00The Bones of ParadiseI had read <b><i>The River Wife</i></b> by Jonis Agee years ago and loved it, so I was happy to see that she had written another book. &nbsp;Sadly for me, I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic with this book as I had been with <i><b>The River Wife</b></i>. &nbsp;However, my reaction doesn't seem to appear to match the excellent reviews on the book, so maybe I just missed something.<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062413482_p0_v3_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Bones of Paradise: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062413482_p0_v3_s550x406.jpg" /></a>The story takes place in the Sand Hills of Nebraska in the 1900's. &nbsp;The Wounded Knee massacre had occurred ten years earlier not far from the Sand Hills. &nbsp;The&nbsp;book opens with JB Bennett on his way to retrieve his son from JB's father, who has raised the boy as he felt he should be raised. &nbsp;JB's wife, Dulcinea, had left him about ten years before after JB let his father take their son and she lived in a nearby town. &nbsp;JB was raising their younger son by himself. &nbsp;As JB was headed toward his father's place, he came across the dead body of a young Lakota Sioux woman (Star). As he studied the body, JB was shot and killed. And that set up the story.<br /><br />Dulcinea returned to the ranch after JB's death and was left there to deal with her resentful two teen-aged sons, her father-in-law, Drum Bennett, and her best friend, Rose, who was Star's sister. &nbsp;Not only was Dulcinea dealing with who killed her husband and Star, but also her conniving father-in-law who not only wanted her sons, but wanted her land. &nbsp;Meanwhile, there is the issue of how the murders tied into the Wounded Knee massacre.<br /><br />It's kind of a busy story, but good enough to keep my interest in finishing it. &nbsp;Not good enough to keep the book, however.<br /><br />That's my new standard, since we will be moving. &nbsp;Is the book good enough to keep? Nope, not this one.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-64257973494807899992017-08-29T13:09:00.002-07:002017-08-29T13:09:41.508-07:00Days Without End<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780525427360_p0_v2_s550x406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Days without End" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780525427360_p0_v2_s550x406.jpg" /></a>I read <b><i>Days Without End</i></b> by Sebastian Barry last year, but apparently forgot to include it in my blog. &nbsp;It was chosen this year for our August book group, so I re-read it. &nbsp;And I can easily say that I think this is the best book that I have read so far this year. &nbsp;The writing is stunning and the characters are so very well developed. &nbsp;I have been a fan of Barry for a long time, and this book is just amazing. &nbsp;</div><br /><br />The story is about two young boys who met around 1850. Thomas McNulty was an orphaned young boy who had come to America from Ireland by himself. &nbsp;He met John Cole, a young boy from New England, in Missouri under a hedge escaping the rain when they were around fourteen or fifteen years old and quickly became the best of friends. &nbsp;Once they left their covering, they came across a saloon looking for young boys to dress up as female dance partners for the miners who came in the saloon. &nbsp;After Thomas and John got a little older, they had to leave that work and so they signed up for the army together, fighting in the Indian Wars. &nbsp;It was during that time, that the boys became lovers. &nbsp;During their time fighting, they found a nine year old Indian girl who they took care of and became their daughter. &nbsp;Soon the Civil War began and the two boys/men signed up and left Winona with a trusted friend. &nbsp;The Civil War fighting was as brutal as the Indian War. &nbsp;The two were taken prisoners. &nbsp;By the time they were freed, they learned that Winona's uncle wanted her back with the tribe.<br /><br />In all, the story is about two boys who live through horrors and hard times, and love each other through it all.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"I almost wasn't able to say, my father died too. &nbsp;I saw his body. &nbsp;Hunger is &nbsp;sort of fire, a furnace. &nbsp;I loved my father when I was a human person formerly. &nbsp;The he died and I was hungry and then the ship. &nbsp;Then nothing. &nbsp;Then America. &nbsp;Then John Cole. &nbsp;John Cole was my love, all my love."</blockquote>Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-18112733797439698662017-08-29T12:34:00.004-07:002017-08-29T12:34:37.965-07:00Slaughterhouse Five<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">I had never read anything by Kurt Vonnegut before. &nbsp;I read a review of&nbsp;<b><i>Slaughterhouse Five</i></b> not long ago, and thought it sounded interesting, so got a copy of it. &nbsp;While I did like the book, I probably am not inclined to read any other of his work. &nbsp;A little to sci-fi for me. &nbsp;That being said, I did like the book, so it was worth the read!<img alt="Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780385333849_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg" /></div><br /><br /><b><i>Slaughterhouse Five</i></b> is considered to be an anti-war book, and I would agree with that completely. &nbsp;The main character clearly suffers from PTSD from his time in Germany during World War II. &nbsp; The book jumps from time period to time period, so that was a bit disconcerting at first, but ended up not being an issue for my reading. &nbsp;It seemed to me that the point was that war will always be. &nbsp;Suffering will always be. &nbsp;Whenever someone dies in the book, he says "So it goes." in a very matter of fact way.<br /><br />It's an interesting book. &nbsp;It would make for good discussion!Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-69003765851437287822017-08-01T12:03:00.002-07:002017-08-01T12:04:49.506-07:00The Keeper of Lost Things and Dark Matter<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></div><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062473530_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Keeper of Lost Things: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062473530_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a><b><i>The Keeper of Lost Things </i></b>by Ruth Hogan was one of my book groups read for July. &nbsp;We decided that it was a good "beach read". &nbsp;Not heavy, just a kind of fun story.<br /><br />The story is initially about Anthony Peardew, a writer, who was the keeper of people's lost things. &nbsp;As he found items (a button, a glove, a piece of jigsaw puzzle, etc.), he would take them home and catalog them. They were kept in his locked study. &nbsp;As he got older, he hired an assistant to help with his writing. Laura was a middle-aged divorced woman who was anxious to move away from her old life and so she applied for the job and was hired.<br /><br />The book begins with a biscuit tin full of human ashes found on a train! &nbsp;That was intriguing.<br /><br />The book was a bit confusing, as it would go off into different stories, and it was rather hard to keep up with at first. Eventually, the stories all tied together and then it made sense.<br /><br />Upon Anthony's death, Laura learned that he had left her the house and everything in it. &nbsp;She was to return all of the lost items that Anthony had kept.<br />She started a website hoping to find the owners of the items.<br /><br />There are a lot of characters in the book and, as I said, they do all end up tied together. &nbsp;It was a fun, light read.<br /><br />And the fifth book I read in July was <i><b>Dark Matter</b></i> by Blake Crouch. &nbsp;Here's the funny story about this book. &nbsp;I was perusing books at Barnes and Noble one day and a clerk came over to see if I needed help. &nbsp;We began talking about books briefly, then he left. &nbsp;A few minutes later, he returned with Dark Matter and told me that it was the best book he had read all year, said he had read it in two days non-stop, and then proceeded to describe it. &nbsp;Needless to say, he was quite enthusiastic, and even though he said it was a bit science-fiction, I took a chance and bought it. &nbsp;A couple of days later, our fifteen year old grandson came to visit for the week. &nbsp;I told him about the book (I hadn't read it then), so he decided to read it, and finished it in less than 24 hours, and loved it.<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781101904244_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Dark Matter" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781101904244_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a>A few days later I began reading it. &nbsp;To a non-science-fiction-fan it was clearly&nbsp;science fiction, but I stuck with it. &nbsp;Kind of an interesting premise about parallel universes. &nbsp;A college physics professor living in Chicago with his wife, Jason decided to meet an old friend for a drink one evening and didn't return home. &nbsp;He woke up elsewhere and eventually realized that there were alternate versions of himself living out different lives. &nbsp;Vaguely reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life, what would Jason's life had been like if....whatever. &nbsp;So then Jason was frantic to return to his "regular" life. Etc., etc. <br /><br />Just not my kind of book! &nbsp;But if you are a sci-fi enthusiast, you may like it!!<br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-6639510215460887892017-08-01T11:35:00.005-07:002017-08-01T12:05:18.651-07:00Just Mercy<br /><div dir="ltr" style="clear: right; float: right; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780812984965_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780812984965_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Just Mercy</b></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Bryan Stevenson. I'll begin this by sharing what John Grisham wrote about this book:</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not since </span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Atticus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, </span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Atticus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.”—John </span><span style="background-color: yellow; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grisham</span></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-6b6f09b4-9f0b-4080-6812-54a2c60490d1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;;">Bryan Stephenson went to Georgia while doing an internship while attending Harvard Law School. During that internship, he found his calling. He began working with death row prisoners who needed his representation. The book tells the story of Walter McMillan, a black man who was accused and convicted of killing a white woman in southern Alabama. Mr. McMillan had been at a barbecue with his family and friends at the time the murder took place, yet he was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder. As the legal team investigated the case, it became clear that Mr. McMillan was innocent and after many, many long hours of work, they were able to prove his case and he was set free-after spending six years on death row. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the years Mr. Stephenson's team has worked with children, domestic violence victims, the mentally ill, and others who seem to just be forgotten and lost in the judicial system.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was a very interesting book. &nbsp;I felt like it got bogged down at times, getting away from the main issue, but that may have been because I tend to focus on the people's stories, not background issues. &nbsp;It was a good read.</span></div><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-36593202692208892622017-08-01T11:24:00.001-07:002017-08-01T11:24:18.405-07:00Two of the Five Books I Read in JulyI read five books in July. &nbsp;Here are two of them (more to follow).<br /><br /><br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250132116_p0_v6_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Redemption Road: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250132116_p0_v6_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></div>1)&nbsp;<i><b>Redemption Road </b></i>by John Hart. &nbsp;Yes, I read this last December, but I re-read it for July since one of my book groups chose it for our July read. &nbsp;I enjoyed it&nbsp;just as much the second time reading it as I did the first! &nbsp;It is a mystery about the disappearances of several women over many years in a small town. &nbsp;Several of the women were not even listed as missing. &nbsp;A former police officer had been arrested and found guilty of the murder of one of the missing women and he had been sent to prison. &nbsp;Years later, upon his release, it began again. &nbsp;But did he do it? &nbsp;There are lots of characters in the book and the reader is kept guessing through-out, wondering who is guilty.<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br />2) <i><b>Big Little Lies </b></i>by Liane Moriarty. &nbsp;I have had this book for a couple of years &nbsp;but had not read it. I presented it to one of my book groups for our August read. &nbsp;It's a big book, but read fast. &nbsp;It, too, is a mystery and is written in kind of a different way. &nbsp;Right away, you know that someone died, but you don't learn who died under what circumstances until almost the very end of the book. &nbsp;I was put off by the writing at first, but stuck with it, and ended up enjoying the story.<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780425274866_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Big Little Lies" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780425274866_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a>The story takes place in a small coastal town in California and is about several women, their lives, their relationships, their children and their secrets. &nbsp;It begins six months before the parent's fundraiser night for the local elementary school. The book follows the escapades/stories of several of the kindergarten moms. There are definite groups, actually more like high school cliques, among the moms, and they have their differences between themselves. The story actually seems like a dark comedy, with &nbsp;numerous funny episodes. &nbsp;It was a fun, light read.<br /><div><br /></div>Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-9773167699861909932017-07-02T12:47:00.003-07:002017-07-02T13:12:11.261-07:00And for June...<div class="tr_bq">Four books read in June. &nbsp;That seems like a low number to me, but then, that is one book per week, so maybe it is a lot to have been read! Only one book of the four was disappointing to me, so that's not a bad average. Here's what I read:</div><br />1)<b><i> Lilac Girls</i></b> by Martha Hall Kelly: I really wish that I had paid attention to&nbsp;what was written on the back of the book (softcover). &nbsp;I'll tell you why-I didn't realize that the book was based on real people's lives. &nbsp;That would have made the book even more interesting.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781101883082_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Lilac Girls: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781101883082_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>This is the story of three women before, during and after World War II. &nbsp;One of the women was a former actress and socialite Caroline Ferriday. &nbsp;Before and during the war she worked as a liaison for the French consulate, trying to bring people to the US. &nbsp;Meanwhile in Poland, teenager Kasia was working in the resistance as a courier. &nbsp;And in Germany, Herta was a doctor.<br /><br />The book is about the Rabbits-people who were part of Mengele's experiments in Ravensbruck, which is where Kasia and Herta met, Kasia as a prisoner and Herta as a doctor in the camp. &nbsp;Kasia was one of the Rabbits. <br /><br />It is a hard book to read, as is any book about the concentration camp experiences. It is very well-written and thought-provoking, revealing secrets long hidden about the camps. <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">&nbsp;"...a lilac only blossoms after a harsh winter."</blockquote><br />2) <b><i>the light we lost </i></b>by Jill Santopolo. &nbsp;This book has been hailed as one of the best of 2017. &nbsp;I was disappointed. &nbsp;The premise sounded good, but fell flat for me.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780735212756_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Light We Lost" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780735212756_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>Lucy and Gabe met on 9/11 while in college in New York City and while&nbsp;watching the towers fall and the subsequent news that day, they became aware of a strong attraction to each other. &nbsp;But the attraction didn't go anywhere, and they both moved on, finishing college and pursuing careers. &nbsp;A year after college, they ran into each other and the passion was burning. However, after six months, Gabe left to pursue a job in Iraq as a photographer. &nbsp;Lucy was devastated, but eventually moved on with her friend Darren. &nbsp;They married and built a life together. &nbsp;But every once in awhile either Gabe or Lucy would call or text each other, so they never quite lost touch. &nbsp;The contact was always just enough to stir up old feelings and for Lucy to wonder about how her life would have been if she and Gabe had stayed together. And after thirteen years of not being with Gabe, she is faced with a decision....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780735212176_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Exit West" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780735212176_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>Long lost love, right and wrong, etc.<br /><br />3) <b><i>Exit West</i></b> by Mohsin Hamid. &nbsp;This was a book group read and I really had no interest in reading it, but since it was for book group, I read it. &nbsp;And that is why I love book group-the books chosen to read are often not what I would pick up&nbsp;and so I am forced to read out of my comfort zone, so to speak. And it is always a good thing for me to have to do. In this case, I read the book and loved it!<br /><br />The book began in an un-named Middle Eastern country where Saeed and Nadia met. &nbsp;They began seeing each other, and soon Saeed convinced Nadia to move in with him and his father after his mother died. &nbsp;However, the city was under lots of violent conflict and the couple learned of a "door" that for the right price would take them to another country. They had to travel that way several times as violence would escalate through-out different cities. &nbsp;Saeed's father refused to go with them when they left:<br /><br /><blockquote>"...but that is the way of things, for when we migrate, we murder from our lives those we leave behind."</blockquote>The writing in this story is incredible. I highly recommend this book.<br /><br />4) and the last book read in June was <b><i>Mischling</i></b> by Affinity Konar. &nbsp;Oddly, it is also a book about the concentration camps, this time taking place in Auschwitz, and Dr. Mengele. The story is about his experiments with twins. &nbsp;It&nbsp;is&nbsp;horrifying, and gripping.<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316308090_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mischling" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316308090_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a>Pearl and Sasha were taken to Auschwitz with their mother and their grandfather. &nbsp;Because they were twins, they were separated from their mother and grandfather and immediately taken to Dr. Mengele's "Zoo" where other twins were kept.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"And this is where I don't remember. &nbsp;This is where I want to wander my mind back and under, past the smell, past the thump-bump of the boots and the suitcases, toward some semblance of a good-bye. &nbsp;Because we should have seen our loves go missing, we should have been able to watch them leave us, should have known the precise moment of our loss."&nbsp;</blockquote><br />Horrible, horrible things were done at the Zoo as Mengele conducted his awful twin experiments. &nbsp;He wanted to learn if it was possible to break the twin bond, the twin feeling for the other twin. The girls survived camp life with help from others until the winter when Pearl disappeared. &nbsp;She is presumed to have been killed by Mengele, but Sasha would not believe she was gone. &nbsp;After the camp was liberated, Sasha continued to search for Pearl. &nbsp;The twin bond was never broken. Mengele failed.<br /><br />This book is about so much...love, resistance, resilience, survival, family. &nbsp;Great book. &nbsp;By the way, <i>Mischling</i> is a term that was "used by the Third Reich to denote a person of mixed blood."<br /><br />So, did you notice anything different in the blog? &nbsp;Yes, I finally figured out how to put the images of the books on the blog! &nbsp;It only took me 6 months and all of a sudden, I knew how to do it!Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-1678467377417374012017-06-01T11:00:00.002-07:002017-07-02T13:09:14.787-07:00Two Other Books for MayI read two other books in May, one already reviewed, and the other a new one.<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781416560005_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Memory" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781416560005_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a>I re-read <b><i>Memory</i></b> (reviewed February 2016) for my book group. &nbsp;It was my&nbsp;selection and we had a good discussion over it. &nbsp;It's a very short, but powerful book, and I recommend anyone to read it!<br /><br />I also read <b><i>Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy</i></b>. It was an interesting book. &nbsp;It was written by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. Sheryl lost her husband very suddenly and was left to navigate life with their two young children without him. &nbsp;As she so beautifully wrote, she felt that she and her children would never feel joy again. &nbsp;Her friend, Adam Grant, a psychologist, slowly helped her through her grief, telling her that she could rebound from this tragedy....that we are all built with resilience. &nbsp;I loved how resilience is described as a muscle.<br /><br />The book offers Sheryl's own struggles with her grief along with insight and&nbsp;wisdom. &nbsp;Adam offers research studies. &nbsp;Both were touching and fascinating.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781524732684_p0_v7_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781524732684_p0_v7_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>Her life with her husband had been Option A. &nbsp;After his death, she learned that she had to move on to Option B. There is much in this book for all of us, not just for those dealing with the death of someone. &nbsp;We all need resilience for many life events over the years.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-52546482017941542902017-06-01T10:41:00.001-07:002017-07-02T12:53:42.839-07:00Books with sequelsI love finding a good book that continues on into other books. I read two sequels this past month and they did not disappoint. &nbsp;I always recommend that readers read the original book first, then the sequel. &nbsp;I know that a lot of sequels can stand alone, but I just think that too much could be missed by not reading the books sequentially.<br /><br />I first read <b><i>The Kitchen House</i></b> by Kathleen Grissom in June 2011. (Review done in June 2011). I re-read the book for one of my book groups. &nbsp;It was just as good as the first time.<br /><br />Excitedly, I had already purchased the sequel to <b><i>The Kitchen House</i></b>, <i><b>The Glory Over Everything</b></i>, so once I finished reading <b><i>The Kitchen House</i></b>, I was ready to move on to the rest of the story!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781476748450_p0_v4_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Glory Over Everything" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781476748450_p0_v4_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>The<b><i> Glory Over Everything</i></b> picked up shortly after where <i><b>The Kitchen House</b></i>&nbsp;had left off. The first chapter began in Philadelphia in March of 1830 with the character Jamie, who was now thirty-three years old, living in Philadelphia. He had passed as a white man and had made a good life for himself. Only one man, Robert, knew his secret and he was loyal. &nbsp;However, when Robert's son, Pan, was taken by slave-hunters, Robert asked Jamie to go down to the plantation where Robert had learned Pan was and bring him back to Philadelphia. &nbsp;This meant that Jamie would have to return South where he was considered a run-away slave. &nbsp;And this is how some of the other characters from <b><i>The Kitchen House</i></b> came into the story.<br /><br />It was a good read and the author did a good job bringing both books together. And there is certainly plenty of fodder for another sequel!<br /><br />The other sequel that I read last month was <b><i>Anything Is Possible</i></b> by Elizabeth&nbsp;Strout. &nbsp;I had read <i><b>My Name Is Lucy Barton</b></i> in June of 2016 (review done in June 2016), and <i><b>Anything Is Possible</b></i> is a sequel to that (in sorts). The book takes place in Amgash, Illinois which is where Lucy Barton was from.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780812989403_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Anything Is Possible" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780812989403_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>The book is a really a set of short stories about different characters (meant in both senses of the word) who lived in Amgash. Each story seemed to be part of another, and Lucy Barton and her family, tie into each story. And the book ended perfectly! Yes, anything is possible. Fans of Elizabeth Strout rejoice....another huge home run for her!Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-89524111259116682732017-05-04T12:17:00.002-07:002017-07-02T13:10:29.658-07:00April Reading I got five books read in April. &nbsp;Guess going to the beach helps me get more reading done! &nbsp;I already feel the need to go back! &nbsp;Here's what I read in April:<br /><br />1)&nbsp;<b><i>Burn What Will Burn </i></b>by CB McKenzie. &nbsp;This was a book that one of my&nbsp;book club members picked up in Africa (of all places!) and wanted to know how others felt about the book. &nbsp;I bit and took it home to read.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250083371_p0_v4_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Burn What Will Burn" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250083371_p0_v4_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>It sounds like a good story and it was, in a way, but it is also quite different, bordering on odd. &nbsp;It is the story of Bob Reynolds who was kind of hiding out in a very rural small town on Arkansas, living very isolated. &nbsp;One day Bob was out walking and came across a dead body in the creek. After he told the Sheriff about seeing the body, he realized that the Sheriff had checked him (Bob) out and was suspicious of him. He was essentially told to forget that he had ever seen the body. So, of course, Bob went on to investigate on his own.<br /><br />The story has a number of unusual characters who Bob interacted with. &nbsp;The whole story ended up just being odd.<br /><br />2) <b><i>Practical Magic </i></b>by Alice Hoffman. &nbsp;Yes, I am a fan of Alice Hoffman and I had not read this book before. &nbsp;When I read a recommendation for it, I got a used copy to read (it was published in 1995 and was her 11th novel).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780425190371_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Practical Magic" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780425190371_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>This book is the story of sisters and witches. &nbsp;The Owens family had a long&nbsp;history of the women in the family being witches. Sisters Sally and Gillian Owens were orphaned and left to live with "the aunts" (whose names are never mentioned). The old, spinster aunts had been using their magic for years and years and Sally and Gillian started to notice that different things went on in the creepy old house. &nbsp;And that the town people treated them differently.<br /><br />Eventually, Sally married and had two daughters, but lost her husband early in the marriage. &nbsp;Gillian left the area and went the opposite way of Sally, running off with men any chance she had, ending up divorced three times. &nbsp;Years later, Gillian showed up at Sally's with a dead man's body in the car trunk. The sister's buried the body in the yard. &nbsp;Meanwhile, Sally's daughters were growing up and going the same way as Sally and Gillian.<br /><br />This is a book about magic, love, and sexuality. &nbsp;It was a good read.<br /><br />3)<b><i> Born A Crime</i></b> by Trevor Noah. &nbsp;This book was a book club pick and a book that I probably would not have ever picked up to read on my own. &nbsp;That's the&nbsp;joy of book groups...getting out of my comfort zone and reading things that I wouldn't have read otherwise. &nbsp;I didn't expect to, but I really enjoyed this book!<br /><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780399588174_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780399588174_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a>Trevor Noah is the host of The Daily Show. &nbsp;I have never seen his show, but did know who he was. &nbsp;I didn't realize that he was from South Africa. &nbsp;This book is autobiographical covering his childhood growing up in South Africa, the son of a black woman and a white Swedish man. Noah was raised by his mother and his story is told rather in essay form, which I found very easy to read. &nbsp;Each chapter loosely covered a certain topic, including school friends, violence, relationships, racism, and being born different from the others. &nbsp;His mother was determined to give him a better life and was a driving force for his success. It was an interesting story.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316339186_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316339186_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>4) <b><i>A Lucky Child </i></b>by Thomas Buergenthal. This is "A memoir of surviving&nbsp;Auschwitz as a young boy". &nbsp;It came highly touted, but I had difficulty getting through it after awhile. &nbsp;The story seemed to get bogged down and I had to make myself finish it. It is certainly an interesting story. &nbsp;The author was a very young boy when taken to the death camps with his parents. &nbsp;He was immediately separated from his mother, but remained with his father for some time, until they were also separated. &nbsp;At the end of the war, he was placed in a Polish orphanage, where eventually (and miraculously) he was found and reunited with his mother in Germany. &nbsp;It was also interesting to learn what became of the author as an adult and how he felt his experiences influenced his life.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062563668_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Women in the Castle" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062563668_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>5) <b><i>The Women in the Castle</i></b> by Jessica Shattuck. &nbsp;This book was probably my favorite read of April. &nbsp;It is the story of one woman, Marianne, who worked&nbsp;with her husband in the Resistance in WWII. &nbsp;Her husband was killed and at the end of the war, Marianne sought out two other women and offered them housing in the family's old rundown castle. One of the women (Benita) had been her friend's wife. &nbsp;Her friend had asked her to watch over his wife and child. The other woman was Ania, who had two sons. &nbsp;The three women and three children lived in the castle with Marianna as the world they knew struggled with the aftermath of the war. Each of the three women made their way eventually to lives that vastly differed from each other.<br /><br />This was a good read. &nbsp;I loved how the author took it to the end and wrapped up the women's stories. &nbsp;The book was inspired by the author's grandparents' memories and experiences from WWII.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-53834053586723355782017-04-02T12:47:00.002-07:002017-08-05T10:57:52.608-07:003 books for March <br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I found <b><i>Soul Catcher</i></b> by Michael White on the bargain table at the bookstore. &nbsp;It caught my eye, and I'm glad it did. &nbsp;It's a story about pre-Civil War times.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780061340734_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Soul Catcher: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780061340734_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;lato&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;lato&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;">Augustus Cain was a "soul catcher", a term I have never come across before. &nbsp;I</span></span><span style="font-family: &quot;lato&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">t refers to those who were fugitive slave catchers. &nbsp;And Augustus was one of the very best. &nbsp;He was hired by a slave master to track down two of his slaves, Rosetta and Henry, who had run away and bring them back to him. Augustus set out with three other men on a journey that led them from Richmond to New York, then to Boston. &nbsp;Augusta tracked the two runaways down, and as they began to return to Richmond, Augustus began healing of his own, as he got to know his captives. The story did not end predictably, but with a strong ending. &nbsp;I liked it very much!</span><br /><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781616201432_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Watery Part of the World" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781616201432_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;lato&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From the library, I borrowed <b><i>The Watery Part of the World</i></b> by Michael Parker. &nbsp;It is a book that I have been wanting to read for quite some time, so I was glad to come across it have the time to read it! &nbsp;It is a good historical fiction book!</span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The story covers over 150 years and is loosely based on two real life events. &nbsp;Aaron Burr's daughter, Theo Burr Alston, disappeared while she was on a ship headed to New York in 1813. &nbsp;Theodosia Burr Alston was born in 1783, and had married Joseph Alston, Governor of South Carolina. &nbsp;In The Watery Part of the World, Theo was not killed, but was found by "Old Whaley", a man who was a bit of an isolationist and somewhat feared/respected on the island where Theo washed up. &nbsp;He nursed her back to health and over time, Old Whaley and Theo became a couple.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062311153_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Mississippi Blood (Natchez Burning Series #3)" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780062311153_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Years later on the same island, live two descendants of Theo and Old Whaley. &nbsp;They are two older sisters who have lived there all their lives and have seen the island became a popular vacation area, then become a rather abandoned area, with just the two sisters and Woodrow a sort of caretaker on the island.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The book was a very interesting read. &nbsp;In real life, it was never determined for sure what happened to Theo, so I liked how the author developed the story based on a real person.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And lastly, the book I have been patiently waiting for, the third of the trilogy by Greg Iles: <i><b>Mississippi Blood</b></i>. &nbsp;This was a really good series. &nbsp;There were lots of themes going on and all three books were huge! The first book was Natchez Burning, the second was The Bone Tree, and now finally the finale. &nbsp;Or was it? &nbsp;The author tricked me before. &nbsp;I thought that there was a hint in the first book about one of the characters who was murdered. &nbsp;I kept waiting for it to come up in the third book and I was wrong and I was really disappointed about that. And now I feel like there was left an opening at the end of the third book for the story to continue. &nbsp;I hope that I am right on this one! &nbsp;I love his writing!</span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's hard to sum up this trilogy. &nbsp;It is about Penn Cage, who has been in the author's other books. &nbsp;Penn's father was accused of murder of his old nurse, Viola, who had left Natchez, Mississippi some thirty years before, then returned there to die. Viola was a black woman who had lost her brother to the Double Eagles, a violent spin-off from the Ku Klux Klan. Viola had also been raped repeatedly by the members of the Double Eagles. And when she returned to Natchez, the group was still around, consisting of old men who still had their convictions. &nbsp;Penn was the mayor of Natchez and as he tried and searched for evidence to prove his father innocent, his family became at risk.</span><br /><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: lato, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I loved the series and Greg Ilse's writing. &nbsp;Be prepared to not be able to put the books down! &nbsp;Each one kept me up late at nights as I didn't want to stop reading them.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: &quot;lato&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif;"></span></span><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-23955600026163169182017-03-04T10:43:00.002-08:002017-07-02T13:02:21.901-07:00February ReadingI can't believe that February had ended! &nbsp;Although, I am not a winter girl, so there is no complaining here! &nbsp;As a matter of fact, we spent 2 weeks at the beach in February, so that helped alot! &nbsp;You would think that I would have gotten plenty of reading done, sitting by the pool, but, alas, I was just too busy! I am reading a long book right now, so it won't be included here until March. &nbsp;So...my reading for February..<br /><br />1) <b><i>The Archivist</i></b> by Martha Cooley. &nbsp;This is a book that I have picked up several times to look at, but never went ahead and got it to read. &nbsp;It came up on a list of&nbsp;books recently, so I decided to read it. I ended up liking it quite a bit. &nbsp;It is the author's first novel and she will definitely be one that I will follow.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316158466_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Archivist: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780316158466_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>The premise of the story is that letters written by T.S.Eliot to his friend (lover?) Emily Hale had been sent to a prestigious university and had been archived. Eliot's wife had been institutionalized and he had carried on a friendship and correspondence with Emily for years.<br /><br />The two main characters of the book (or are they?) are Matthias Lane, a 65 year old archivist and Roberta Spire, a graduate student. &nbsp;Roberta wants a look at the archived letters related to reasons that she had just learned that her parents had been Jews who escaped the Holocaust and converted to Christianity. &nbsp;Because Eliot had converted to Catholicism, she was hoping to learn how her parents may have come to their conversion decision. She was not aware that the Holocaust played a role in Matt's wife's breakdown.&nbsp;Matt had also had to commit his wife to an asylum. <br /><br />So there are many elements going on in the story, with lots of different comparisons and/or similarities. &nbsp;Like Eliot, Matt was a rather isolated person, who tended to remain detached from others. His blossoming friendship with Roberta lead him to begin to realize his part in how his life had played out, in terms of his own decisions.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780312425906_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Alibi" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780312425906_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>2) <b><i>Alibi</i></b> by Joseph Kanon. <i><b>Alibi </b></i>is a mystery that takes place in Venice post WWII. Adam Miller had just left the US Army where he had worked in&nbsp;Germany as an intelligence officer investigating war-crimes. &nbsp;His mother, Grace, had just moved to Venice and had taken a house on the Grand Canal where Adam came to join her. Grace had become involved with a doctor, Gianni, whom she had known years earlier before marrying Adam's deceased father. &nbsp;Grace took Adam to a party where he meet Claudia. &nbsp;They quickly became involved and as Adam got to know her, he learned that she was an Italian Jew who had been placed in a camp during the war. &nbsp;As Adam spent time with Gianni, he began to be suspicious of what Gianni had done during the war. &nbsp;As he began to look into Gianni's past, things quickly escalated. &nbsp;The story was a good one, but it seemed like the relationships that were developed &nbsp;early in the story fell somewhat flat. I was glad to be done once I finished the book. &nbsp;It had begun to drag for me.<br /><br />3)<b><i> The Last Midwife</i></b> by Sandra Dallas. &nbsp;This was a book chosen for one of my&nbsp;book groups. &nbsp;I had read it some years ago, so it was the second time for me. &nbsp;It was a good, interesting story, but the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. It made<br />our group wonder why she spent so much time writing the book and then ended it the way she did.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250074478_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Last Midwife: A Novel" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250074478_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>The story took place in 1880 in a small mining town in Colorado. &nbsp;Gracy Brookens was the town's only midwife and she had been accused of murdering a baby after she delivered it. &nbsp;Gracy had delivered babies all her life, since she was around 10 years old. &nbsp;She loved babies and working with the mothers. Of course, Gracy had not committed the murder, but clearing her name wasn't so easy. And Gracy was not too forthcoming in her defense. Gracy knew many, many secrets from all of her years delivering babies and she had a strict code...she would tell no one the secrets that she knew. And that included secrets about the baby (and the baby's family) she was accused of murdering.<br /><br />Oh, did my review end abruptly? &nbsp;So did the ending of the book.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-27190273574047201472017-01-29T10:29:00.000-08:002017-07-02T13:08:27.716-07:00January ReadingAs I said in my post yesterday on <i><b>Freeman</b></i>, I am changing things up a bit with this blog. I plan to wait until the end of the month and review all the books read for that month then. &nbsp;There is an exception to that, however. &nbsp;If I read a book that I cannot wait to share, I will post about that book at the time I have finished reading it. &nbsp;We'll see how this goes. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780393285826_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="My Father and Atticus Finch: A Lawyer's Fight for Justice in 1930s Alabama" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780393285826_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>1) <i><b>My Father and Atticus Finch </b></i>by Joseph Madison Beck. &nbsp;I got this for&nbsp;Christmas (it was on my wish list) because, of course, anything Atticus-related is a must-have. &nbsp;The sub-title for the book is "A Lawyer's Fight for Justice in 1930's Alabama". &nbsp;The author's father was Foster Beck, an attorney in southern Alabama, who was chosen to defend a black man who had been accused of raping a white woman. &nbsp;Sound familiar? The case was <i>State of Alabama vs. Charles White, Alias. &nbsp;</i>It occurred around the time that Harper Lee was about twelve years old.<br /><br />This was an interesting read and certainly there were similarities to <i><b>To Kill A Mockingbird</b></i>. &nbsp;My problem with the book is that I felt like it could have been presented in a magazine article just as well and would have covered the facts. Admittedly, Mr. Beck's intent with the book may have been to tell the story of his father, not just about the one case, and if that is so, then the book did a fine job. &nbsp;I was more interested in the actual case. &nbsp;And the case was covered well.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780060652920_p0_v5_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Mere Christianity" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780060652920_p0_v5_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>2) <i><b>Mere Christianity</b></i> by C.S. Lewis. &nbsp;I began this book a while back, reading only one chapter per day for study. &nbsp;The book was published in 1952 and was&nbsp;based on radio talks that C.S.Lewis gave between 1942 to 1944. I found it to be a rather difficult book to read. &nbsp;It is what some might call "heady" and I just plowed through those parts. &nbsp;My main objection to the book (which I have to add is considered a classic read) was his comments on black people and gay people. There is nothing Christian about those stances.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780451179807_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Spandau Phoenix" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780451179807_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>3) <i><b>Spandau Phoenix</b></i> by Greg Iles. &nbsp;Greg Iles is one of my very favorite authors. &nbsp;While perusing the very small library in our town, I happened across this book, which I had not heard of. &nbsp;I checked it out of the library, and learned it was the first book that he had&nbsp;written. &nbsp;It is about post World War 2 and Rudolph Hess, the last prisoner in Spandau Prison, died. &nbsp;Or was it Rudolph Hess? &nbsp;It was a good story and clearly well-researched, but I felt like it went on and on. &nbsp;It's a very long book, as his books are, but usually I don't want his books to end. &nbsp;This one I was praying for the end. &nbsp;I was hooked enough to finish it and it was a good story, just seemed too long.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781609453329_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Golden Age" border="0" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781609453329_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>4) <i><b>The Golden Age </b></i>by Joan London. &nbsp;So now that I have complained about the books that I have read, here's one that I absolutely loved! &nbsp;Both of my book&nbsp;groups read this book and it was highly praised by both! The story takes place primarily at The Golden Age, an old pub in Australia that had been made into a children's hospital for children with polio. &nbsp;Frank Gold was the main character of the story. &nbsp;He and his parents had escaped from Hungary during the war and ended up resettling in Australia. &nbsp;Soon after, Frank was diagnosed with polio. &nbsp;When he arrived at the Golden Age home, he was the oldest patient there. He soon met Sullivan, a young boy in the home who was in an iron lung. &nbsp;Sullivan was a poet and introduced Frank to poetry and to writing poetry. &nbsp;Frank's other friend in the home was Elsa, who Frank fell in love with and they developed a romance in the home.<br /><br />There were a lot of wonderful characters in this book, including both of Frank's parents, Elsa's parents, and the head nurse at the Golden Age. &nbsp;All of the character's had to deal with various issues, including displacement, love, hope, loss of hope, etc. &nbsp;It's a beautiful book.Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-73691023144420195802017-01-28T08:12:00.000-08:002017-08-05T10:44:08.778-07:00Freeman<br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Freeman" src="https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781932841640_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">I have decided to try blogging about books in a slightly different way than in the past, primarily because I seem to have trouble blogging in a timely manner after I finish a book! &nbsp;So I am going to try blogging at the end of the month about books I have read that month. &nbsp;There will be exceptions...like this post. &nbsp;When I read an exceptional book, I will give that book it's own post! &nbsp;And that is true of <b><i>Freeman </i></b>by Leonard Pitts, Jr., a post-civil-war novel.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is the story of Sam Freeman, a run-away slave, who ended up in Philadelphia where he worked for years at a library. &nbsp;Sam had learned to read from his mistress when he was her slave in Mississippi. &nbsp;When he ran away, he left his wife there with the intention of buying her back. &nbsp;While he worked to earn money, the War broke out and that delayed his plan. &nbsp;Fifteen years after leaving Mississippi, the Civil War had ended and Sam decided to set out by foot to walk from Philadelphia to Mississippi to find his wife.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Freeman</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The book alternates between Sam's story, his wife Tilda's story, and Prudence, a strong-willed, widowed, privileged young woman from Boston who was against slavery. Prudence and her "sister" Bonnie left Boston following the War to open up a school for the former slaves living in Buford, Mississippi.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tilda had been sold off when times got so bad that her mistress had to sell her. She was sold to an abusive slaveholder. &nbsp;When the War ended, her master decided to leave his burned out farm and travel to where his beliefs in slavery would be</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">upheld. &nbsp;He took his remaining three slaves with him, including Tilda, and they began walking west.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Prudence faced enormous resistance to opening a school for blacks in Mississippi and she paid dearly for her efforts.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is a stunning story about the aftermath of the Civil War, as families tried to reunite and others tried to bring true freedom to those who had been slaves. Pitts is a wonderful writer (2004 Pulitzer Prize winner for his column). &nbsp;The book was a great read.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /> Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-72253285552294519202017-01-01T09:42:00.004-08:002017-01-23T05:11:59.296-08:00Review of 2016 reading with favorites listed and statistics <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy New Year 2017! &nbsp;It is time for both my favorite books read in 2016 and some statistics for last year. &nbsp;First, my top 17 books! </span></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-233bc855-5b1f-3e6e-b84a-abfb4981ec77" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plainsong-Kent Haruf</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Revenant-Michael Punke</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Big Magic-Elizabeth Gilbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventide-Kent Haruf: very good</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Signature of All Things-Elizabeth Gilbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memory-Philippi Grimbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Benediction-Kent Haruf</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Name Is Lucy Barton-Elizabeth Strout</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Green Road-Anne Enright</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Always outnumbered, always outgunned-Walter Mosley</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These is my Words-Nancy Turner</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fates and Furies-Lauren Groff</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Underground Railroad-Colson Whitehead</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wintering-Peter Geye</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Safe From the Sea-Peter Geye</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lighthouse Road-Peter Geye</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, of course, I need to narrow this list down First of all, I have two clumps of books by the same authors, so they will be counted as only two books, instead of six. &nbsp;Also, I had re-read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To Kill A Mockingbird</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> last month, and since it is always my number one book, it is out of the running! </span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So now to narrow this list to my top 8:</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plainsong-Kent Haruf</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventide-Kent Haruf</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Benediction-Kent Haruf</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Signature of All Things-Elizabeth Gilbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memory-Philippi Grimbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Name Is Lucy Barton-Elizabeth Strout</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Green Road-Anne Enright</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fates and Furies-Lauren Groff</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Underground Railroad-Colson Whitehead</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wintering-Peter Geye</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Safe From the Sea-Peter Geye</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lighthouse Road-Peter Geye</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As much as I really loved the six books that I have clumped together, I am taking them out for the next round. &nbsp;But make no mistake, I really loved those books!</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Top 6 books of 2016 that I read:</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Signature of All Things-Elizabeth Gilbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memory-Philippi Grimbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Name Is Lucy Barton-Elizabeth Strout</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Green Road-Anne Enright</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fates and Furies-Lauren Groff</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Underground Railroad-Colson Whitehead</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love that four of the six are written by women. &nbsp;But now the narrowing down continues:</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My top 3 books:</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memory-Philippi Grimbert</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Name Is Lucy Barton-Elizabeth Strout</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Green Road-Anne Enright</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And my favorite book read in 2016:</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memory by Philippi Grimbert</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is interesting that two of the top three are older books that I came across on my bookshelf while looking for something to read. &nbsp;I had read them long enough ago that I did not remember them, so it was fun to re-read them and again remember why I had kept them all this time!</span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Statistics: I read 72 books in 2016, and 18 of them were non-fiction. &nbsp;I am sure that the non-fiction number is my highest ever, so I am pleased with that! Of course, I want to go over my 72 read this year, so I am thinking that I need more beach time for reading!!!</span></div><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-73367925823714464912016-12-31T10:49:00.000-08:002016-12-31T10:49:22.517-08:00Catching Up before 2017!<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been remiss in blogging here, but for once, I have a decent excuse. &nbsp;I had surgery on my right hand at the beginning of the month, so there's that. &nbsp;It also meant that I got lots of reading in! &nbsp;So this is going to be a very brief outline of what I have read and how I liked each book!</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) <b>The Mockingbird Next Door</b> by Marja Mills. &nbsp;This was a very controversial book when it came out, and with good reason. &nbsp;I admit that when I finished it, the book left me quite skeptical. &nbsp;It is non-fiction, by a then-Chicago based journalist who went to Monroesville, Alabama to do a piece (or series) about where <b>To Kill A Mockingbird </b>was based. The author contends that she became very close to Harper Lee and her sister Alice and all of their friends. &nbsp;Harper Lee was always known as a very closed person, so the whole story didn't ring true for me. But maybe I'm wrong. &nbsp;For Harper Lee fans, it is an interesting story about the town and the friends of the Lee sisters.</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>2) Of course after having read the above book, I had to re-read </i><b>To Kill A Mockingbird</b><i>, for what I would estimate the 20th time. &nbsp;Cried at the very end, as I do every single time. &nbsp;Best book ever. &nbsp;It will be out of the running for Top Book of 2016, because</i></span><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;I would choose it as #1 every year!&nbsp;</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>3) </i><b>Never Goin' Back </b><i>by Al Roker. &nbsp;I found this for $1 and, since I am a fan of Al Roker, I grabbed it up. &nbsp;It is a quick read, telling about his childhood, growing up and his life-long weight struggle. It was interesting and easy to read.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>4)&nbsp;</i></span><span style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Grace</b></span><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Natashia Deon. &nbsp;This was an interesting, rather monumental debut novel that was sometimes very interesting to me and other times hard to follow. &nbsp;It is told by the narrator Grace who was a black slave in the South in the 1840's. &nbsp;Grace was killed right after giving birth to her only child, a daughter named Josey. Grace followed Josey through-out her life ( kind of like a haunting) trying to protect her from the harsh reality of a slave's life. &nbsp;This story is about several generations and stayed with me. &nbsp;</i><br /><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) </i><span style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Nix</b></span><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Nathan Hill. &nbsp;Not a book I would necessarily recommend, primarily because it was so very long for what the story was. &nbsp;The story itself was quite interesting, but, oh, what a wordy book! This was also a debut novel and I expect good things to come (hopefully not as verbose!).</i><br /><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a novel about a son and his mother and their struggle to reconnect years after she left the son and his father to find her own way in life. Summary: good story but way too long than needed.</i><br /><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6) </i><span style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Redemption Road </b></span><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by John Hart. &nbsp;I love John Hart's books. &nbsp;This is his third and I have really liked all of them. &nbsp;</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Redemption Road</b></span><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is a mystery that kept me engaged through-out the book. &nbsp;Several times I thought that I knew who did it, but I was wrong. &nbsp;And when I though it was the actual killer, I then convinced myself that it wasn't! The story began with a young boy with a gun ready to kill the cop being released from prison for killing the boy's mother thirteen years ago. And meanwhile, other murdered women are showing up. &nbsp;Who did it???</i><br /><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7)</i><span style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> The Nest</b></span><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. &nbsp;This book had been on my radar for some time, but I didn't think that I would especially like it. &nbsp;However, when I came across it for fifty cents, I decided it was worth a read, and I ended up finding it to be a good book. &nbsp;It is the story of four adult children who were anticipating receiving The Nest in a few months. The Nest was an investment that their father had made years ago for them and it had, surprisingly, ended up being worth much, much more than the father had ever dreamt it would, or was intended. &nbsp;And his children already had "spent" their share. &nbsp;However, the oldest of the four ended up in trouble and their mother decided to use The Nest to help him. &nbsp;The book is about how the four children handle this. &nbsp;Good book.</i><br /><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i><i style="font-family: &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there you have it. &nbsp;It is New Year's Eve and I don't anticipate finishing another book before 2017 begins. &nbsp;My next post will be listing my favorites from 2016!</i>Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-58584153171500772482016-11-30T08:00:00.004-08:002016-11-30T08:00:53.841-08:00Two More Books by Peter GeyeA few weeks ago I posted on the book <i><b>Wintering</b></i> by Peter Geye.&nbsp; I loved his writing enough to seek out his two earlier books.&nbsp; They did not disappoint.&nbsp; Geye is from Minnesota and all three of his books are placed there.<br /><br />Peter Geye's first book was <b><i>Safe From the Sea</i></b>.&nbsp; It took place in the wilds of Minnesota <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BPnhcmOxNvg/WD7wu5WFkpI/AAAAAAAAMik/HrS2CYLzbusS5IKlwisR1DHfwA4nq_YaQCLcB/s1600/9781609530570_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BPnhcmOxNvg/WD7wu5WFkpI/AAAAAAAAMik/HrS2CYLzbusS5IKlwisR1DHfwA4nq_YaQCLcB/s1600/9781609530570_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>and was the story of a son and his dying estranged father.&nbsp; Noah lived in Boston with his wife when he received a phone call from Olaf (his father) saying he was ill.&nbsp; Noah hadn't seen his father in five or six years, but felt that he needed to go see him, fearing that his father's illness was serious. When he arrived at his father's place, Noah realized how bad things were for his father. As he stayed with his father,Olaf began sharing stories from long ago, specifically about the shipwreck of the <i>Ragnarar.</i>&nbsp; Olaf had been one of only a few survivors of that wreck thirty-five years earlier. 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class="MsoNormal">And so began some healing for both Noah and Olaf.&nbsp; Understanding of that fateful night that forever changed everyone's lives settled into both of them.&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">This book won the Indie Lit Award Winner for Best Literary Fiction. I found it to be a great first novel!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Peter Geye's second novel, <b><i>The Lighthouse Road</i></b>, was the prequel to <b><i>Wintering</i></b> and I was so sorry that I hadn't read it first, because it would have helped tremendously in sorting out who everyone was and their relationships to each other.<br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-n2KVQ6UlI/WD725yKpC-I/AAAAAAAAMi4/SV1QCuo9IOQL9ecwmGwv2fZRi2EVFdTAwCLcB/s1600/9781609531003_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-n2KVQ6UlI/WD725yKpC-I/AAAAAAAAMi4/SV1QCuo9IOQL9ecwmGwv2fZRi2EVFdTAwCLcB/s1600/9781609531003_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a><i><b>The Lighthouse Road</b></i> began in 1896 with the story of a pregnant young girl,Thea Eide, who had recently arrived from Norway,.&nbsp; Thea had come to Northern Minnesota to live with her aunt and uncle.&nbsp; When she arrived, she learned that they had both died.&nbsp; She was taken in by Hosea Grimm, a prominent townsperson, who lived there with his "adopted" daughter Rebekah. Soon Thea was sent to work as a cook in the logging camp and there she became pregnant. When winter came, the camp shut down and Thea returned to town to Hosea's home.&nbsp; It was there that her son Odd was born.<br /><br />The book's chapters shift back and forth from 1896 to 1920-1921.&nbsp; Jump to 1920 and Odd was a young man in love with an older forbidden woman. He built an "ark" and they traveled to Duluth for a new life away from all they had known.&nbsp; But history replays itself and both returned to the place they were from and there the story <b><i>Wintering</i></b> begins.<br /><br />I found this to be a very powerful story of resilience and love.&nbsp; I would strongly recommend that this be read before reading the <i><b>Wintering</b></i>.&nbsp; Together they make a wonderful story of generations in the cold Minnesota woods. <br /><br />**Note: I ordered <b><i>The Lighthouse Road</i></b> in paperback twice and both issues arrived beginning with page 23!&nbsp; So I ended up ordering a hardcover copy of the book from the library and it was find.</div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-80432054196174195452016-11-12T11:21:00.002-08:002016-11-12T11:21:59.378-08:00Did You Ever Have A Family <i><b>Did You Ever Have A Family</b></i> by Bill Clegg has had rave reviews and been on the New York Times Best Seller List and I just kind of missed what everyone was so enthralled with.<br /><br />I finished the book, but it was a bit of a chore for me.&nbsp; The book was, at first glance, a story <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uM5nS0AEp6w/WCdrtcmEeII/AAAAAAAAMXw/QHGDgSaiuUgHDKqPZfuQm9qB6MqtuyGogCLcB/s1600/9781476798189_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uM5nS0AEp6w/WCdrtcmEeII/AAAAAAAAMXw/QHGDgSaiuUgHDKqPZfuQm9qB6MqtuyGogCLcB/s1600/9781476798189_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>about a disaster that occurred on the eve of a wedding, killing the bride-to-be, her fiance, and the boyfriend of the mother of the bride.&nbsp; The story tells of the grieving of the mother, June Reid.&nbsp; And in the story of her grief and loss, are the stories of others who were affected by the horror.&nbsp; Small town secrets are told.<br /><br />Sounds like something I could get into, but I just never did.&nbsp; That being said, the book has had much success, so don't go by me! Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-52170323274766299172016-11-01T10:38:00.000-07:002016-11-01T10:38:31.352-07:00Some October ReadingI just finished three books in rapid succession, each good in it's own right.<br /><br />1) <b><i>The Mothers</i></b> by Brit Bennett.&nbsp; This is the author's debut novel and I will look <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7alpms4_4fs/WBjFd6rEj8I/AAAAAAAAMSs/mdcOSnXSzi8DrNzk07n9puwt-OovoMArgCLcB/s1600/9780399184512_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7alpms4_4fs/WBjFd6rEj8I/AAAAAAAAMSs/mdcOSnXSzi8DrNzk07n9puwt-OovoMArgCLcB/s1600/9780399184512_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>forward to seeing/reading what comes after this book.&nbsp; The book has had wonderful reviews, and I wasn't as taken with it as some reviewers, but, having said that, it was a good book.&nbsp; It centers around three teenagers, living in southern California who are each part of a black church community.&nbsp; Seventeen year old Nadia's mother had recently committed suicide, leaving her alone with her father. Her best friend, Aubrey, had moved in with her sister to avoid living with an abusive step-father, and Luke, the son of the church's pastor, had suffered a bad football injury that took away his dream of playing college football. The story was sometimes narrated by Nadia, but, more interestingly, was often told by "the Mother's", who appeared to be the older women of the church.&nbsp; It seems that through-out the following years, "the Mother's" suspected secrets about the three teenagers. Years later, after Nadia had completed college and law school, she returned to the town to care for her father, and "the Mother's" stirred up old unfinished business between the three main characters.<br /><br />It was an interesting story about three teenagers who each suffered in their own way with their relationships with their mothers, and how the church's "mother's" continued to not mother these children.<br /><br />2) <b><i>The Two-Family House</i></b> by Lynda Cohen Loigman.&nbsp; Again, I had read great <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hMXmLvOvDns/WBjIh2FZzZI/AAAAAAAAMS0/WyYPoEFmF6M8bdNT0n28-N0S_gxl6dKVgCLcB/s1600/9781250076922_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hMXmLvOvDns/WBjIh2FZzZI/AAAAAAAAMS0/WyYPoEFmF6M8bdNT0n28-N0S_gxl6dKVgCLcB/s1600/9781250076922_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>reviews about this debut book, and was rather let down.&nbsp; I found the story terribly predictable, but yet, the author did a good job portraying the characters.&nbsp; It is a story that takes place in post WWII and is about two brothers who worked in their own business, and lived in a two-family home with their wives and children.&nbsp; The brothers were very different from each other, as were their wives. Abe and Helen had four boys, Mort and Rose had three girls.&nbsp; Rose and Helen were best friends, raising their children together. When they both ended up pregnant at the same time, they each hoped for what they didn't have-a son for Rose and Mort and a daughter for Abe and Helen.&nbsp; A blizzard came while Abe and Mort were out of town and both of the women went into labor.&nbsp; You can guess the rest.&nbsp; The women made and lived with an impossible secret for years. As you can imagine, there was a terrible impact that affected all, even as others did not know the secret.&nbsp; The author did a good job with the story, other than it being so predictable.<br /><br />3) <b><i>Wintering </i></b>by Peter Geye. I just happened to come across this book at the<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sXNILkl7Ss4/WBjSvIkte6I/AAAAAAAAMTA/UvVPqpHx0b8Ll8FsitVMNPl3H4hYDSWnACLcB/s1600/9781101946466_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sXNILkl7Ss4/WBjSvIkte6I/AAAAAAAAMTA/UvVPqpHx0b8Ll8FsitVMNPl3H4hYDSWnACLcB/s1600/9781101946466_p0_v3_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>library and picked it up to take with me for the weekend.&nbsp; I loved it.&nbsp; I will say that I struggled mightily to figure out the relationships in the book while I was reading it, but as I got near the end, it all came together.&nbsp; I think that the book was purposely written that way, but it was hard for me with my need for order.&nbsp; However, as I searched online about other books by the author (he has written two other books), I learned that in his second book the Eide family was introduced.&nbsp; So now I have to read that book to see what I may have missed!<br /><br /><b><i>Wintering</i></b> is, at first read, the story of Harry Eide and his son Gus who went for a winter voyage in the border waters of Minnesota (where they were from) and Canada after Gus graduated from high school.&nbsp; However, the book begins thirty years later, with Gus telling Harry's longtime love, Berit, that the now elderly and demented Harry has disappeared.&nbsp; As Gus continued to seek out Berit the winter that Harry disappeared, he began telling her the story of that winter when he and his father had gone out to spend the winter in the wild, eventually telling her long-held secrets about that time.&nbsp; The book is narrated by Berit, who had come to that wilderness, many many years before and knew many secrets that Gus did not know about his family and about the town.<br /><br />Geye's writing is beautiful and grabbed me at the very first sentence:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Our winters are faithful and unfailing and we take what they bring, but this season has tested even the most devout among us." </blockquote>Later in the book, he wrote:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Every person, I have come to believe, has a moment or a place in life when all four points of the compass converge, from when or where their life finally takes-for better or for worse-its fated course." </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote>I found a definition of the word 'wintering':&nbsp; "To <span class="hvr">lodge,</span> <span class="hvr">keep,</span> or <span class="hvr">care</span> <span class="hvr">for</span> <span class="hvr">during</span> <span class="hvr">the</span> <span class="hvr">winter:</span> <span class="illustration"><span class="hvr">wintering</span> <span class="hvr">the</span> <span class="hvr">sheep</span> in <span class="hvr">the</span> <span class="hvr">stable".</span></span><br /><br /><span class="illustration"><span class="hvr">To me, that is what the book was about: the wintering of keeping and caring for the history of Harry Eide and his family.&nbsp; A beautiful book.</span></span> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366332997229049780.post-5536571927015669362016-10-23T12:11:00.002-07:002016-10-23T12:11:39.197-07:00And Three MoreAs promised, here are the other three books that I have recently read:<br /><br />1) <i><b>The Innocent Sleep</b></i> by Karen Perry.&nbsp; This is a debut novel and I will be anxious to read more by <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l4KAVpgBJc4/WA0EviYshsI/AAAAAAAAMQ4/nzAL5Ki-ilsSsRKZZj1EF-vgeWefGl96wCLcB/s1600/9781250061188_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l4KAVpgBJc4/WA0EviYshsI/AAAAAAAAMQ4/nzAL5Ki-ilsSsRKZZj1EF-vgeWefGl96wCLcB/s1600/9781250061188_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>Ms. Perry!&nbsp; We read this for book group and it was a good read! Well-developed characters and good story! <br /><br />The story was about Harry and Robin who lived in Tangiers.&nbsp; They had a son, Dillon.&nbsp; One night, Robin was gone and Harry left young sleeping Dillon alone in their place while he ran an errand.&nbsp; While Harry was gone, an earthquake happened and Dillon's body was never found.&nbsp; Five years later, Harry and Robin had relocated to Ireland and one day, Harry thought that he saw Dillon.&nbsp; This is the premise of the book...was Dillon alive?&nbsp; And as they sorted through Harry's assertion that he saw Dillon, many secrets were revealed.<br /><br />Good mystery story! I passed it on to another reader with my recommendation!&nbsp; I hope they like it as well as both I did and my book group did!<br /><br />2) <i><b>At Risk</b></i> by Alice Hoffman.&nbsp; this was another read for book group.&nbsp; I had read this book years ago, when it first came out, so it was a pleasure to re-read it. I am a big fan of Alice Hoffman's works. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gxm2vi0MLrs/WA0Hy0Al8WI/AAAAAAAAMRA/56nGjMWZTxcVUPBaqHlYvFBj6nEHOMKIQCLcB/s1600/9780425117385_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gxm2vi0MLrs/WA0Hy0Al8WI/AAAAAAAAMRA/56nGjMWZTxcVUPBaqHlYvFBj6nEHOMKIQCLcB/s1600/9780425117385_p0_v1_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><i><b>At Risk</b></i> tells the story of eleven year old Amanda Farrell who was diagnosed with AIDS, contracted when she was younger from a blood transfusion.&nbsp; The news of her diagnosis was, of course, devastating for her parents, and the story is much about their struggle to come to some kind of sense of it all.&nbsp; What was so fascinating and brilliant about this book was how Hoffman made each character's life at risk in some way.&nbsp; Amanda's parents turn to other people and her eight year old brother Charlie was left to deal with his best friend and schoolmates ostrasizing him.&nbsp; Hoffman also dealt with the hysterics of the community upon learning of Amanda's diagnosis. (It is interesting to remember that this book was written in 1989, before Hippa, etc).<br /><br />What is so remarkable (and sad) about the book, is that it is still so relevant, even some thirty years later.<br /><br />3) <i><b>Boy, Snow, Bird</b></i> by Helen Oyeyemi.&nbsp; Interestingly, I have bypassed this book for the last couple of years.&nbsp; I don't know why, nor do I know why I decided to read it now, but I am glad that I did.&nbsp; I <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1QrZGjCIsQY/WA0LMgEGS5I/AAAAAAAAMRI/gUdkNg79STYT0Flsa51eys6a6ErpuFyHACLcB/s1600/9781594633409_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1QrZGjCIsQY/WA0LMgEGS5I/AAAAAAAAMRI/gUdkNg79STYT0Flsa51eys6a6ErpuFyHACLcB/s1600/9781594633409_p0_v2_s192x300.jpg" /></a></div>thought the book had some issues (or perhaps it was just me). I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight.&nbsp; It was enough work just keeping Boy, Snow and Bird straight!&nbsp; And why didn't Boy like Snow?<br /><br />The book began with Boy Novak, a young girl being raised by her single father in New York.&nbsp; Her father was a rat-catcher and was quite abusive to her. Boy had finally had enough and boarded a bus, where she landed in Flax Hill, Massachusetts.&nbsp; She met, then married Artura Whitman, who was a widower and had a daughter named Snow.&nbsp; When Boy became pregnant and gave birth to Bird, she realized that Artura was a black man passing as white.<br /><br />The back of the book states that the author&nbsp; "brilliantly recasts the 'Snow White' fairy tale as a story of family secrets, race, beauty, and vanity."&nbsp; Yes, I guess I can see that.&nbsp; It's an interesting way to think about the story.<br /><br />There is an interesting twist at the end of the book that I found confusing, not really understanding how it played into the story. This might make a good read for book group!&nbsp; Perhaps someone else could figure that out!<br /><br />Sue F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15784595421535239536noreply@blogger.com0